COUNCILLOR PROPOSES REGISTRY FOR HOMES USED IN GROW OPERATIONS

KITCHENER - After police bust a marijuana grow operation, the
property should be flagged at the land titles office until it is
properly cleaned and repaired, says a veteran city councillor.

Coun. Berry Vrbanovic said the idea is to protect home buyers and
renters from moving into a residence contaminated with pesticides,
fertilizers, jerry-rigged wiring and mould.

"Depending on the size and the extent of the grow-op, it can get very
bad," Vrbanovic said. "The problem is if it is not registered on the
land titles' system, there is no way of knowing it."

Kitchener is among several municipalities that will vote on a
resolution in support of the move. A grow-op registry would require
changes to provincial laws that govern municipalities and the land
title system.

Motions in support of a grow-op registry will be forwarded to the
minister of community safety and correctional services in a bid to
demonstrate widespread support for the move.

City bylaw officers and hydro inspectors now routinely issue several
orders after a home grow is busted related to proper cleaning and
repairs to make the residence safe and healthy for people living
there in the future. But the remedial work is not always done
properly and the properties are not re-inspected.

"Sometimes what happens is that people simply paint over the mould
and so on and people end up buying these properties not knowing what
was in there and have health problems afterwards," Vrbanovic.

A registry would require a follow-up inspection to ensure that work
is completed before other people move in.

"It protects people," Vrbanovic said.

Once the work ordered by city inspectors is completed the warning
could be removed from the land title and the city should be able to
recover some or all of its costs, Vrbanovic said.

Home buyers and renters should be able to access the grow-op registry
at no charge.

Vrbanovic's call for a registry is scheduled to go before city
council on Monday Nov. 3.

In the early 2000s, Waterloo Regional Police busted a large, home
grow operation almost weekly.

But then the numbers started dropping.

In 2002, police shut down 39 grow-ops averaging 300 plants each.

By 2004, the number of busts was down to 15 and last year about 11
were raided. So far this year about six grow-ops have been shut down
by regional police.